I'm sometimes perplexed by the commentary around Carrie being "the worst" and can't help but feel people are missing the point. She was one of the first female anti heroes on TV (along with Ally McBeal), you're not always supposed to like her or what she's doing, or even root for her. But you should always understand her thought process. She's supposed to be a fleshed out semi realistic (in the sense that she makes mistakes and contradicts herself) character with all sorts of foibles, insecurities, anxieties, and issues. That's who she is. So when I see people say, "Did anyone else hate / cringe / disagree with what Carrie did?" -- yeah, that's the point.
The most discussed case is Carrie confronting Charlotte about money. "What Carrie did was horrible!" -- yeah no shit. Carrie herself has a voiceover on the way to Charlotte's apartment saying she was acting irrationally and later apologizes to her. You're not supposed to like what she did, but just like real people she sometimes acts irrationally and does things that she regrets. The show was about showing the characters' flaws as well as triumphs. All of them are flawed -- especially Carrie Bradshaw.
Also Carrie is the main character and the only one for whom we are privy to her innermost thoughts - so of course that's also going to make her unlikeable sometimes as we see all her insecurities and anxieties in ways that we don't see for the other girls. All that to say, I couldn't help but wonder if many are completely missing the point of the show and the character.
Edited to add: There will be no spoilers here.
I’m very late to the party, obviously. Having just finished the series finale, I’m keenly aware of how far behind I am, so please be gentle with me.
This show, man, this show. These characters. The finale.
The finale cements Nora as one of the most memorable characters (in a show full of memorable characters) to ever grace our screens, and I’m kind of in awe of Carrie Coon’s performance throughout the whole series.
This is where I admit I had never seen her in anything prior to this show, or if I did she never made an impression on me. Which kind of makes my experience with The Leftovers that much better. I was able to meet Nora as a stranger, with no prior baggage that a viewer can sometimes bring into the relationship with a character. And she blew me away with her perfectly messy mixture of strength, sass, and utter vulnerability.
I’m not the type of viewer to pore over fan theories and take deep dives into plot developments, but without spoiling anything about the finale, I am a little obsessed with the possibility that Nora was lying. A conversation earlier in the episode leaves it open to interpretation. But ultimately, it doesn’t matter. Because of the indelible performance, I’m satisfied either way, and the same could be said for the show as a whole. The writing and cast was outstanding.
My favorite finale ever has been the infamous cut to black of The Sopranos, but it might have just been replaced by the exquisitely tender finale of The Leftovers, anchored by Coon’s Nora.
Like Iris DeMent sings, just let the mystery be.
I don’t want to be mean to the actress, but the more I read about SJP and her view of SATC, the less I understand why she took the role in the first place:
“I was uncomfortable with nude scenes, scenes with sex toys, or vulgar language – so I did not do any. My character, Carrie, kissed a lot of men, but that’s as far as it went.”
It annoys me that she was bad for the role from the start with her mentality (hey, it’s a show called Sex and The City about a columnist who writes about sex), she didn’t do a single nude scene unlike every other woman on the show, yet was the queen bee of the show not only on camera but behind the scenes. Why did everyone else have to go through the discomfort of being naked, using vulgar language, using sex toys, etc. if even the main protagonist wouldn’t do so?
I think she acted great and she’s always going to be “the Carrie,” but boy I don’t know what all of them were thinking when hiring a sex columnist who wanted nothing to do with sex.
So, I'm doing the obligatory lockdown re-watch and I've noticed a recurring quirk when it comes to Carrie and usually a guy she's seeing at the time. It's this thing with food. Once I noticed it I keep seeing it every few episodes to the point where I'm sure its deliberate and written in to be cute or endearing, I don't know. It's like, stop trying to make fetch happen, Carrie. So many scenes where she takes a bite of food that doesn't fully go into her mouth or she eats sort of messily. If there's a bf around, he will make a point of kissing or wiping it off her lips. Please tell me someone else has noticed it too lol! Even in the 2nd movie it happens with Big's anniversary meal at home. I could go back and find more than a few examples over the course of the series. It can be cute maybe once, forgiven maybe twice but after that it's weird. Food in the mouth. In the mouth! Boys are cute and kisses are great, but they're not napkins.
I get that she's not bright on modern technology, but what's her problem?! She takes the pc and mac's incompatibility so literally as if they're celestial devices.
The fact that Aidan puts up with all her crap and still wanted to marry her makes me think he needed to be heartbroken by her twice to make him come to his senses.
Edit: I have concluded that Aiden is a SIMP 😁 I never actually used this word until today. There is already enough discussion on what Carrie is on this sub.
To this day, seeing C&L live on the 2015 tour was one of the best experiences of my life. My friends and I happened to be at a scientific conference in New Orleans, and it turns out Sufjan was in town one of the nights we were there, so we bought tickets. It was the evening before Mother's Day, which must have been particularly emotional for Sufjan (and for the audience). I remember as he played, everyone in the theater was on the edge of their seats, with tears running down their faces. It was so emotional and intimate, you could've heard a pin drop in the silences between the songs. That album had made such a mark on me, so seeing him play it live, along with some of my other favorite tracks, was a life-changing experience. Everyone walked out of the theater that night filled with awe. It's the only time I've seen him live, but I'd like to again as soon as possible.
The only photo I still have from that night is this potato-quality one of him at the piano.
shit quality photo of Sufjan on the C&L tour
Who else saw Sufjan on the C&L tour? What was your show like? Have you seen him any other times?
She is just the worst. First of all, she always casually talks about how she has no money and spends it all on designer clothes and pays $750 for her apartment. Now, I know this was 20 years ago and with inflation thats $1100 a month today. That’s still VERY cheap for New York and she has a good job. She even realizes in the episode she has spent $40k on shoes.
The part that really gets me is Samantha and Miranda offer her the money, which they are not obliged to do. She declines. She ripped up the check from Big, which I’m sure $30,000 isn’t a lot to him considering his lifestyle. AND THEN she goes to charolettes house and flips on her for not offering her $30k? I think Charolette was completely right. She isn’t responsible for Carries finances. Carrie wouldn’t even listen to her story about what happened to her dad when he lent money in the past. The fact she immediately declines the money from 3 people and shames Charolette for not giving her money is kind of selfish and rude in my opinion.
And then she shames Charolette for wearing the ring in her own house and for being rich and having no job. Now I personally wouldn’t do that Charolette did, but Carrie KNOWS it was Charolettes dream to get married and have a baby. And she KNOWS that Charolette was upset she couldn’t conceive with Trey and it ruined their marriage. She doesn’t work because she assumed she’d be a mom and a housewife at that point and can’t get her job back. Carrie complains about Aidan and Big ALL THE TIME I think Charolette has a right to sulk about her problems in the comfort of her own house without judgement.
Then Charolette gives Carrie the ring, that she really liked, and Carrie ACCEPTS.
Do you think she’d give her engagement ring from Big to anyone? Probably not
Idk I thought that was just a weird way to handle that. Like if Miranda and Charolette offered the money and Samantha didn’t- would she storm over to Samantha and ask why she offer her money? It’s just odd
